Safety-catch for mine-cages.



l H. MARTINI. SAFETY GATGH POR MINE .0AGES. APPLICATION FILI-ID AUG. 1, 1907.

Patented Dec. 29, 1.908.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

THE noRms PETlrs ca, WASHINGTON. D. c4

H. MARTINI.

" SAE'BTY OATGH I 'OR MINE OAGES.

PPLIOATION FILED AUG. 1. 1907.

Patented Dec. 29, 1908.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATEN OFFICE.

HENRY MARTINI, OF PAWNEE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, OF ONE-HALF TO HIRAM M. YOUNG, OF JEWETT, TEXAS.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 29, 1908.

Application filed August 1, 1907. Serial No. 386,655.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY MARTINI, a citizen of the United States, and resident -of Pawnee, Sangamon county, Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Safety-Catches for Mine-Cages, of which being the following 1s a specification containing a full, clear, and exact description, reference had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof.

My invention relates to a safety catch for mine cages, my object being to construct a simple, inexpensive, and automatic arrangement, which will instantly act and stop the descent of a mine cage should the hoisting cables thereof break, thus preventing loss of life and property due to the accidental dropping of the cage.

To the above purposes, my invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts, which will be hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in the claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of the cage in position between the vertical guides, which are arranged on opposite sides of the mine shaft Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1,' Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail section taken on the line 3--3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a block made use of in the ends of the head beam of the cage; Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a sliding block made use of in the ends of the head beam, and which sliding block engages with the stops formed on the guides for the cage; Fig. 7 is an elevation of a portion of one of the guides, and showing the manner in which the ends of the sections are joined; Fig. 8 is a vertical section taken on the line 88 of Fig. 7 g Fig. 9 is a perspective view of one of the brackets such as is used in the cage guides, and with which the sliding blocks engage.

Referringby numerals to the accompanying drawings 1 designates the vertical guides for the cage, which are in the form of channel bars, and which are vertically disposed on opposite sides ofthe shaft, and said guides being made in sections, with the lower ends of each section provided with a tongue 2, which overlaps the web of the upper end of the adjacent section, and the overlapping ends being bolted or riveted together. Rigidly fixed in any suitable manner to the webs of the guides 1, at equal distances apart, are brackets 3, which form stops against which engage the outer ends of the sliding blocks carried by the head beam of the cage. The body of the cage comprises a platform 4, of any suitable construction, which is carried by the lower ends of upright bars 5, and the upper ends of said upright bars being rigidly fixed in any suitable manner to the head beam of the cage. This head beam comprises a pair of I-beams 6, arranged parallel with one another, a slight distance apart, and the ends of said I-beams being connected in any suitable manner to the upper ends of the bars 5. The flanges of these I-beams terminate just inside the flanges of the guides 1, and the vertical webs of said I-beams are extended a short distance, as designated b 7, so as to occupy positions on the sides of the guides 1, thus providing means for guiding the upper end of the cage.

Brackets 8 are bolted to the sides of the platform 4, and extend outward on the sides of the guides 1, thus providing means for guiding the lower end of the cage. The inside lower flanges of the I-beams 6 are cut away at the ends of said beams, and detachably positioned on the under sides of the beams of these out away points are plates 9, provided with integral blocks 10, which extend upward between the vertical webs of said I-beams. dinally on top of these blocks 10, and beneath the inner flanges on the tops of said beams, are blocks 11 provided on their outer ends with the integral lugs 12, which are. adapted to engage on top of the brackets 3 when said blocks 11 are moved outward; and formed integral with the opposite ends of the blocks 11 are the vertically disposed arms 13, which project upward between the inner flanges at the tops of the I-beams 6.

,Plates 14 are rigidly fixed on top of and below the I-beams 6, at the centers thereof, and arranged for vertical movement throughsaid plates is a rod 15, the lower end of which is provided with a nut 16, the upper end being provided with a perforated head 17.

Located on the rod 15, above the top plate 14,is a retractile coil spring 18, the lower end of which is fixed to said top plate 14, and the upper end being fixed to the rod 15, adjacent the head 17 Pivotally connected to the head 17 are the upper ends of links 19, the

Arranged to slide longitulower outer ends being pivotally connected to the upper ends of the arms 13. Connected to the perforated head 17 is the lower end of a chain 20, the upper end of'which is secured to a ring 21, and carried by said ring are the upper ends of chains 22, the lower ends of which are connected in any suitable manner to the upper ends of the upright bars 5 The hoisting cables for the cage are connected tothe ring 21, and when the cage is properly suspended in the shaft between the guides 1, the red 15 is pulled upward to its limit of movement, thus expanding the retractile coil spring 18, and the blocks 11 are held at their inward limit ol' movement, with the outer ends of the lugs 12 entirely free from the guides 1 and brackets 3 fixed thereto. W ith the parts thus positioned, the cage is free to move vertically between the guides, with the parts 7 and S traveling on the side faces oi' said guides.

Should the hoisting cables break, the power storedin the retractile coil spring 18 will instantly act to move the rod 15 downward; and, as a result, the lower ends of the links 19 are moved outward, thus moving the blocks 11 outward between the li-beams 6 and over the blocks 10; and the ends of the lugs 12 carried by said blocks 11 are moved between the 'flanges of the channel bar guides 1 and into engagement with a pair of the brackets 3, thus instantly stopping the descent of' the cage.

Should the blocks 11 or the parts carried thereby become breken or worn while in use, they can readily be detached by removing the blocks 10 located in the ends of the head beam of the cage.

An apparatus of my improved construe tion comprises a minimum number of parts, can be` cheaply manufactured, owing to the fact that nearly all the parts required are of ordinary commercial shapes, such as are i i i l l l l l i l l easily obtained in the open market; and the guides for the cage, being made in sec tions, can be readily extended downward as the depth of the shaft is increased..

l claim:-

1. The combination with vertically disposed guides and stops arranged thereon, of a cage operating between said guides comprising a pair of -beams rigidly lixed to one another and arranged at the upper end of the cage, the vertical ilanges ol' which L beams are extended so as to engage the side faces of the guides, blocks removably [ixed to the under sides ol the -beains at the ends thereof, sliding blocks arranged on the fixed blocks, the outer ends el" which sliding blocks engage with the stops en the guides, and means connected to the sliding blocks whereby the saine are moved outward when the hoisting cable ol the cage is broken.

2. The combination 'w ith a pair ollr vertical guides and stops arranged thereon, of a cage arranged to operate between said guides comprising apair el' -beams rigidly lixed to one another and arranged betwoei'i the guides at the upper end et the cage, blocks detachably Vlixed te the under sides ol'v the @beams at the ends thereof, blocks arranged to slide on the lixed blocks, the outer ends of' the sliding blocks being adapted to engage with the stops on the guides, a spring actuated rod arranged for operation lmtwoen the -beams, a connection between said rod andv the hoisting cables ol the cage, and links arranged between the upper end of the rod and the sliding blocks.

ln testimony whereof, I have signed my naine to this specilication, in presence ol" two subscribing witnesses.

HENRY MARTINI.

ll. E. FARNAM, Jas. Monnnnnr. 

